Middle Tennessee wins 20th, tops Charlotte, 71-49

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Middle Tennessee took a 10-point lead at intermission thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcus Tarrance and rolled to its 20th win of the season with a 71-49 victory at Charlotte Thursday night.

With their eighth straight conference win, the Blue Raiders (20-7, 10-2 C-USA) maintained a share of the Conference USA top spot with four games remaining in the regular season. The win was the second meeting between the two schools and comes 26 years after their first, with Charlotte won on a neutral site, 78-63.